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His Dark Materials

Because the series deserves a separate thread.

Read? Liked? Loved? Waiting for the Book of Dust? Still naively hoping for movie sequels? Picked and named your own daemon? Have your say.

Tags: Compass, Golden, HDM, Philipp, Pullman

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jeffrey on August 8, 2008 at 5:35pm

I finished The Subtle Knife last week and I've just started The Amber Spyglass. I loved The Golden Compass but I really wasn't at all impressed by The Subtle Knife.

Permalink Reply by Sarah on August 8, 2008 at 9:54pm

I've read the trilogy, but it was a while back. I really enjoyed The Golden Compass, but like Jeffrey, wasn't as fond of The Subtle Knife. It was The Amber Spyglass that really got me. Taken as a whole, the series is very good. I haven't seen the movie though, I've heard it was pretty bad.

I wish I could remember a little bit more so I could have a more intelligent response. I guess it's time to read it again.

Permalink Reply by Matt Stith on August 9, 2008 at 8:48pm

read the series twice, about a year ago. they are still my favorite books, and i'm anxiously awaiting the book of dust. the movie was a letdown but i'd still like to see the other movies made.

also my daemon is a lion named aditi

[my shift buttons are broke

]

Permalink Reply by fortunate on August 10, 2008 at 5:39am

A lion? Man, I'd be a little afraid to be near you, with my puny little fennec fox... (His name's Philo)

Permalink Reply by Matt Stith on August 11, 2008 at 3:50pm

Hehe, they'd get along just fine. Aren't cats supposed to be the ones afraid of dogs? :D

Permalink Reply by Michelle on July 25, 2010 at 9:37pm

One would think, but my calico chases dogs, even big ones. She has no claws (She was adopted at 3), but thinks she is a total bad-ass.

Permalink Reply by Matt Stith on August 11, 2008 at 4:01pm

I meant to write a bit more but my keyboard was messed up, so here's what i wanted to write the first time :P

The story is deliciously complex, while still being simple enough for light readers to understand. One of the things i found weird about it though (SPOILERS), was that after Lyra meets Will, who is supposed to be her first and true love, the whole story turns in to a hunt for Roger! Maybe Will was a bit naive but I think he would have said something

Also, personally, I don't particularly like the character of Will. It seemed like he rarely had dialog, and was just following Lyra around like a puppy with a magic knife.

One of the moments that I caught that was kind of a "Ah!" moment was a little after Will and Lyra first meet. In the first book it mentions that arguments between children are often settled by their daemons. Will and Lyra are fighting about something outside of the cafe (can't remember what, I need to re-read), and Will and Pan start staring each other down, and Pan ends up retreating back to Lyra's shirt, which causes Will to win the argument! Early signs of Will's daemon!

Permalink Reply by Mary Lupin on August 18, 2008 at 8:15pm

Adored all three books. My favourite bit (had me howling with laughter at the author's delightful audacity) was when "god" died. He just quietly, and gratefully, returned to the earth. That was sooooooooo cool.

Permalink Reply by Grace Conyers on October 9, 2009 at 9:58am

I was introduced to His Dark Materials when I downloaded a massive quantity of eBooks while living in China. Unfortunately, I've not seen any of the other books in the series available for download. (Not that I've looked hard. I'm really quite easily distracted.)

I have to wonder if the audiobook that I listened to was exactly like the book. If it is, then I loved it. I really should get around to reading the rest of the series. My brother insists that I'd love the rest of the series as well.

Permalink Reply by Medusa on October 15, 2009 at 7:37pm

I read the series about a year ago. I loved it because the young girl had a mind of her own and was not a wimp.

Permalink Reply by AtheistsAreUs on December 6, 2009 at 9:22pm

The book of dust is the fourth book in his trilogy, but not a continuation of 1, 2 and 3, but rather a book of stories in the same world after the trilogy occurs. It is scheduled for publication in April of this next year.

Permalink Reply by Jess on January 26, 2010 at 2:58pm

I didn't know he was writing a fourth book. Awesome. I read the trilogy years ago. I went flying through the first two books, the last one took me longer to get though. But I enjoyed it.